Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction

It may be a little hard to get into the concept of “The Aquatic Uncle” by Italo Calvino, as one rarely reads stories about the social lives of the prehistoric reptiles/amphibians who evolved from ocean life. Though, while the concept is strange, the topics Calvino discusses in this short story are almost domestic with how much we read about them, especially today: the progress of society and how one progresses with it. Like in our world, the characters live in a world where society progresses at an exponential rate. Their ancestors began as near fish, but their society has been moving onto land more and more, with very few still staying within the water. Our protagonist’s uncle is one of these few. Although his family begs him to return to land with them, he doesn’t budge an inch and stays within the water. Some are already evolved almost fully for land, such as the protagonist’s fiancée, who hasn’t seen a water-dweller before meeting the uncle. Then there are those in between, suc

The short story Bloodchild by Octavia Butler perfectly combines disgust and intrigue, as well as a big heap of detachment. My first thought after reading was it’s an interesting take on the parasitic alien trope; more domestic, more normalized, just as traumatizing. It’s obvious the race of the Tlic is based on insects, which of most organisms looks the most alien to humans as well as having members that are parasitic in nature, so the connection makes sense. As in certain insect species as well, it seems as though the Tlic are matriarchal - which adds to the interesting role reversal to the men who bear Tlic children. The Terrans in this short story are implied to be minorities, as T'Gatoi mentions them leaving the planet due to subjugation. Terrans are thought to be given an equivalent exchange, as they have access to shelter as well as nonfertilized eggs, which make the Terrans live longer lives. Of course, objectively, being put on a preserve like they are and having to b

Once again, our science fiction is set within the future. Unlike the space opera, it’s a horrible future where no one is happy, except for the evil ruling class of corporations or corrupt governments. Unlike our Speculative fiction, though, it’s less about being within the collapse of sane civilization and being beyond it. The environment is completely decimated - there’s nothing green in these stories except for the occasional neon light. Almost always robots of some kind exist, running amuck or assisting the end of humankind, whether their intention or not. Everything humans aren’t aware of—everything that should be God's knowledge alone—is common knowledge in Cyberpunk genre. While originally supposed to be a throwing of the set ways and gurus of the 80’s science fiction trends, eventually it grew its own and is supposedly a “dead” genre. Cyberpunk tech in is usually extremely advanced. It’s farther in our future than most scoff stories, which either takes place in the curre

Of science fiction genres, I first threw myself into speculative fiction. I loved speculative fiction for the fact that—rather than cheesy sci-fi movies I’d seen depicted in media—these stories detail a world very similar to ours, only changed in a single, major way. These stories allow their authors to, as the name of the subgenre implies, speculate. Speculate either on how society could develop in the far future, or a completely different universe. These stories twist your brain. A large chunk of this subgenre focuses on our culture’s social issues and how we deal with them. Samuel R. Delaney’s Aye, and Gomorrah dealt with several layers of LGBT+ identity, a couple years before the Stonewall riots. Our main character is not only nonbinary but assigned by the government as neither male nor female at a certain age, thereby deeply exploring the concept of gender. The main protagonist is portrayed as asexual, and those attracted to them are deemed freaks, examining sexuality at an odd

I’ve always loved the genre of science fiction, how it could be so personal and yet so distant. I especially loved the exploration aspect of it; how the audience could sit and be awed by the atmosphere every once and awhile. I’d never touched on early science-fiction and the space opera, though. Reading a few short stories by both Arthur Clarke and CL Moore was a brand new experience for me. These futuristic settings and technologies could be the basis of real tech fascinated me as a connection to today. Satellites, touchscreens, even the modern space program wouldn’t be here if not for these fantastic first goes at what laid beyond our stratosphere. While that influence is truly awe-inspiring, the most interesting part of this genre is the very human aspects as well. Science was only part of the show, as Hugo Gernsback's description of 75% literature and 25% science stated. The idea of a space opera is they’re horse operas set in space: more about adventure, more about action, mor

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman is, overall, a novel about family. A really dysfunctional, not super healthy family, but about family nonetheless. The novel follows two brothers through their adventure of meeting each other for the first time after many, many years, and the frustration behind both their clashing personalities and the death of their father. Anansi Boys also shows the importance of family, with how Fat Charlie and Spider (the respective brothers) save each other in different ways, as well as the influence of their father, the god Anansi, on their lives. This novel also explores the unpredictability of life. The boys’ lives don’t quite work out the way both they think they should - defying both their and the audience’s expectations. Anansi dying unexpectedly, which hits both boys hard (in Charlie’s case, harder than it should) is extremely unexpected to everyone in the novel, though it’s revealed he’ll come back in a few years. Rosie, Fat Charlie’s fiancée, at the be